Date: 1702

"Now how should he possibly do this, unless he is absolutely free, and undisturbed by tormenting Passions, which bind him, as it were, and if I may use that expression, chain him fast to himself."

— Dennis, John (1658-1734)

Date: 1703

"Force, and the Wills of our Imperious Rulers, / May bind two Bodies in one wretched Chain; / But Minds will still look back to their own Choice. / So the poor Captive in a Foreign Realm, / Stands on the Shoar, and sends his Wishes back / To the dear Native Land from whence he came."

— Rowe, Nicholas (1674-1718)

Date: November 25, 1707; 1708

"In Honour's Name remember what you are, / Break from the Bondage of this feeble Passion, / And urge your way to Glory."

— Rowe, Nicholas (1674-1718)

Date: November 25, 1707; 1708

"I feel my Soul impatient of its Bondage, / Disdaining this unworthy, idle Passion, / And strugling to be free."

— Rowe, Nicholas (1674-1718)

Date: 1714

"Well then, I own my Heart has broke your Chains. / Patient I bore the painful Bondage long, / At length my generous Love disdains your Tyranny."

— Rowe, Nicholas (1674-1718)

Date: 1718

"Pierce this treacherous Heart, which Vice so long has held in Chains."

— Molloy, Charles (d. 1767)

Date: 1781

"Pardon me, madam, his heart was not only free from that lady's chains, but absolutely captivated by another."

— Cowley [née Parkhouse], Hannah (1743-1809)

Date: January 16, 1719

"No, Madam, I say, not that I mean to use my Power, I tell you only what it is, my Heart has broke your Chain, I claim no Right over you."

— Johnson, Charles (1679?-1748)

Date: November 10, 1730

"The pleasing Pain, / The gentle Chain, / That constant Hearts unite, / Such Joy bestows, / That Freedom knows / No such sincere Delight."

— Lillo, George (1691/3-1739)

Date: 1739

"How delightful a thing it is to love, when there is no Obstacle to those aimiable Chains with which two Hearts are united together!"

— Baker, Henry (1698-1774); Miller, James (1706-1744)